The starting quarterback stands firm on his desire to remain with the team, but Cutler said Monday he knows desires don't always come to fruition.

"We'll find equal ground. We'll get it worked out," he said on "The Jay Cutler Show" on WMVP-AM, per the Chicago Tribune. "I don't know when it's going to happen. And eventually it might not happen. But we're going to take a crack at it, I'm sure."

Cutler said talks haven't begun between his agent and the Bears' brass. It could be a long, drawn-out process given the team's leverage with how well Josh McCown played while Cutler was hurt. Everything from the franchise tag to walking away is on the table for the Bears, though general manager Phil Emery has said he'd like to come to a long-term agreement with Cutler.

"I think if you polled quarterbacks around the league, everyone's going to want to come here," Cutler said. "Why wouldn't you want to play here? We've got a lot of guys who can make some plays. It would be fun to stay here. Obviously I want to stay here."